More than two million visitors attend the Dubai Shopping Festival each year, with retail spending totalling in excess of US$1 billion. Sponsored by Dubai Duty Free, the event is enlivened with international theatre and street performances, fashion shows, nightly fireworks and laser shows, prize draws (with booty such as Rolls Royces and gold), film festivals, children's events and handicraft shows.

The most atmospheric shopping is to be found in the souks, located on either side of Dubai Creek, where bargaining is part of the buzz. The Gold Souk at Sikkat al-Khali St is Dubai's most famous bazaar - here the narrow streets are lined with shop windows sparkling with bracelets, necklaces and earrings in 18-, 21-, and 22-carat gold, sold according to weight.

Although you're less likely to take fish home with you, the Fish Souk in Deira, where fishermen pile their gleaming catches high, is well worth a visit just for the spectacle. The Spice Souk (also known as Old Souk), on Al-Sabkha Road, smells sweeter - this is where bags bursting with exotic spices and colours are on display.

Dubai is a fantastic place to buy carpets, as traders from Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan converge in this shopping haven, selling their wares for anything from a few hundred to thousands of dirhams. Other traditional goods include: Arabic coffee pots, swords and khanjars (Arabic curved daggers), prayer beads, marble goblets, silver Bedouin jewellery, cotton dhurries (oblong floor coverings) and inlaid rosewood and walnut furniture.